Ceban: Authorities Want to Bar Me from Running in the Parliamentary Elections

Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban launched a scathing attack against President Maia Sandu, accusing her of dividing the population into “supporters and enemies of the state” and of weaponizing national institutions to intimidate and eliminate political opponents. Speaking to newtv.md, Ceban claimed that efforts are underway to block his candidacy in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for this fall. “Today we witnessed an almost hysterical outburst from Maia Sandu. Until now, she merely divided people into ‘good’ and ‘outsiders’; today, she went further, labeling citizens as either her loyalists or enemies of the state. Anyone not aligned with her party, which she led for four years without delivering real results for the Republic of Moldova, is now branded a traitor. The intimidation machinery has been fully activated: ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against the country.’ This is simply untrue. Anyone who dares criticize Maia Sandu and her entourage for their actions over the past four years is automatically deemed an enemy of the state which is completely unacceptable,” Ceban declared. The mayor further alleged that key state bodiesб including the Supreme Security Council, the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Anticorruption Center, and the Prosecutor’s Office, are being misused to suppress dissenting voices. Cheban called for vigilance among both citizens and international institutions, warning that the current government’s actions have “nothing to do with democratic principles”.